Pluto’s moon Charon has received the first group of official names for its features, among them several with ties to science fiction. Clarke Montes has been named in honor of Arthur C. Clarke and Kubrick Mons is named for the director of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Butler Mons honors Octavia E. Butler. Dorothy Crater is named for the protagonist of Baum’s Oz stories and Nemo Crater is named for the captain of Verne’s Nautilus. Stanislaw Lem’s Prix the Pilot is immortalized in Pirx Crater.For more information…

Seventeen minutes of edited footage from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey were recently discovered stored in a film archive in Kansas. The footage, which is in pristine condition, was cut from the film by director Stanley Kubrick shortly after the film was first released.